Wrapping-machine.



H. J. KEMPF. WRAPPING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE- 3, ISIS.

Patented May 15, 191.7.

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lm mwm H. J. KEMPF.

WRAPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3, 1915. Q 1 .226, 622;. Patented May 15, 1917.

2.SHE.ETS-SHEET 2- [fldizzcaaaa I 7 1720622707 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

HENRY J'.'K.EMPF, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO PACKAGEMACHINERY COMPANY, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION 7 OFMASSACHUSETTS.

WRAPPING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. 7 Patented May 15" 1917,

Application filed June a, 1915. Serial m. 31,890.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I HENRY J. KEMrr,

ta'in Improvements in Wrapping-Machines,

of which the following description, in connectlon with the accompanyingdrawings,

. is a specification, like reference characters on the drawingsindicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to wrapping machines and is of particular utilityin wrapping machines of the type disclosed in Patent No. 1,079,012,granted November 18, 1913, and assigned to the assignee of the presentlnvention.

The machine shown in the patent just mentioned is designed. to wraparticles of confection, particularly molasses kisses, each kiss beinginclosed' in a wrapper folded into the form of a tube and the projectingends of the tube then being twisted to complete the wrapping operation.This machine, because of its simplicity, reliability and high speed hasnow gone into very general use for wrapping confections of thischaracter and the present invention has for its chief object to improvethis machine in certain respects although some features of the inventionare applicable to other wrapping machines. Specifically, the inventionis directed to the improvement of the mechanism that feeds the articlesto the wrapping mechanism, to the devices that hold and manipulate thepaper during the formation of the initial folds about each article, andto the twister mechanism.

The invention will be readily understood fromthe following description,reference being made to the accompanying drawings,

in which- Figure 1 is a vertical, sectional vlew through a machinesubstantially like that shown in the patent above designated butmodified in accordance with the present invention? Fig.2 isa perspectiveview showing a detail of the plunger mechanism that feeds the articlestothe wrapping mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of certain parts- '4 shown in Fig. 1;

Fig.- 4 is a cross se tional view on the line Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the twister meche amsm;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal, sectional view through one of the twister heads;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the twister heads with its'pairof twisters; and

Figs. 8 and 9 are perspective views showing different steps in theprocess of wrapping. an article in this ,machine.

Inasmuch as the features of this invention are shown as embodied incertain mechanisms of the machineshown in the patent above designated,it is'unnecessary to show or describe a complete machine here. Ac-

cordingly, those parts only of the machine are shown 1n the accompanyingdrawings which are necessary for the purpose .of enabling applicant todisclose his invention clearly.

The machine comprises in its general organization a supporting frame -2in which is rotatably mounted a wrapping wheel 3 having a series ofperipheral pockets each formed by a stationary jaw 4 and a movable jaw 5which is yieldingly held toward the stationary jaw but is moved awayfrom it at certain points'in the operation of'the machine by means of acam. The wrapping wheel 3 is given a step by step motion througha'Geneva drive; 'The candy is fed to the machine usually in a rope-likestrip strip as it is fed infront of the plunger,

thus forming one of the kisses to be wrapped. The plunger then forcesthis kiss into one of the pockets in the wrapping wheel 3 and on its wayinto the pocket the kiss is pushed into, a wrapper w which has beendelivered in the/position shown in Fig. 1

by a suitable wrapper feeding mechanism.

The kiss is (see Fig. 8), when finally deposited in the pocket of thewheel, has the 'wrapper w folded about its top, bottom and forward side,thus leaving two flaps J and e projecting horizontally toward thearticle feeding mechanism. A tucker 10 next swings up in front of-thepocket into which thekiss has just been deposited, folding the a lowerflap d u into the position in which it is shown in 8' and the-wheel, 3then starts forward, the tucker '10 moving with it for ashort distance,thus carrying the 5' upper flap eagainst a stationary tucker 12 whichfolds the flap e over the flap 6, thus folding the wrapper into the formof an open ended tube, as shown in Fig. 8. A

continuation of the tucker 12 extends circumferentially aroundthe'wrapping wheel .3 and holds. the wrapper'in its folded positionuntil the wheel has moved far enou h V to deliver the package thusformed to t e action of the twister mechanism which is located at apoint substantial] diametrically opposite the article feed ingmechanism. The twisters then grasp the open ends of the wrapper tube andtwist them pleting the wrapping operation. .The. jaw 5 is -then moved tore ease the'package' from the pocket in which it has been held up tothis point and if. it does not drop it by gravity an'ejector forces itout of the pocket. All this mechanism is substantially like that shownand described in the patent above designated, and reference should bemade to this patent for a complete understanding of this generalorganization together wit :30. the details of the various mechanisms bywhich the operations above briefly described are performed.

The frame and adjacent parts under the guide 6 form a guideway over or.throughi which the kiss is pushed by the plunger and, as will be evidentupon an inspection of Fig. 1,. a considerable space is necessary betweenthisguideway and the wrapping wheel through which to feed the wrapper w.If for any reason the cross sectionof the candy strip is small, due forinstance to some fault with the manner in which the.

attendant feeds, the. machine, a very small Q 'kiss will be formed andthis kiss may drop into the space between the guideway and the whee1.,-This action of course will intery-rupt the operation of the machine. Oneof .the objects of the present invention; therefore, is to devise a.mechanism which will prevent accidents of this character. To this 1:end-there is mounted under the lunger 7 a late 14 which is arranged tosli e back and orth under the lunger from a position back of the spacemto which the wrapper w is fed to a point such that it substantiallybridges the space between the guideway and the wheel 3. The plunger 7is-reciprocated by a lever 15 which is operated by a cam follower 16drivenby arotary cam .17." A

8 0 block 19 is fastened to the upper face of the a rear "end of theplate 14 in position tob struck by the rearmost end of the plunger "'7,-a s the. plunger moves backward; and a 20, fastened at one end to apart of as. e machme frame and at'its opposite end I Q; into the formshown in Fig. -9, thus comto a plate 21 secured to the bottom of therear end of the plate 14, serves to hold the block 19 normally incontact with the rear end of the plunger. Accordingly, upon the forwardmovement of the plunger the spring 20 will cause the'plate 14 to moveforward across the space between the guideway and the wrapping wheel 3,thus supporting the its rear end willv engage the block 19 and push theplate 14 back out of the path of the next wrapper w whichwill beadvanced bythe wra per feeding mechanism. This plate, there ore,effectually prevents a small kiss from dropping into the space betweenthe wrapping wheel and the feeding mechanism where it would interferewith'the normal operation of the machine. The part 22 plunger.

A further feature of this invention resides inthe novel mechanism forholding the paper while the first folds are being (see Fig. 2) is merelya cover plate for the.-

made about the kiss and for facilitatingthis folding operation. As shownin Fig. 2, the forward end of the plunger 7 where it comes in contactwith the kiss is provided with a U-shaped recess, open at the top,bottom and forward end and made of a depth from front to backsubstantially equal to the di- 'ameter', of the In order to facilitatethe formation of the first fold of the wrapper about the kiss theforward end of the plunger is provided with two laterally extendingwings 27 and 28, as best shown in Fig. '2, and the forward faces ofthese wings lie substantially flush with the forward face of a kiss whenit is in the recess of the plun ger so that, as the plunger 7 forces thekissv into a pocket of the wheel 3, picking up the wrapper w on its wayinto the pocket, these wings will aid in folding the wrapper aboutthekiss in a -U-shaped form, leaving top and bottom flaps extendinghorizontally toward the plunger and overlying the forward end oftheplunger. As a further means for facilitating this folding operation, twopaper holding fingers29 and 30 are provided. These fingers may eachconsist of a stout wire or rod bent ,1nto the form shown in Figs. l and'3, and both mounted on the upper end of an arm 32 pivotedon the machineframe at 33,and normally. held forward or toward the article feedingmechanism by a spring 34. "Preferably the aper engaging end of each fin-I ger. is with a rubber tip enabling 60 by two twister mechanisms whichare dupli-1 5 which it is shown in Fig. 1, the finger supporting arm 32is provided with a cam roll 35 which is arranged to be engaged at cer-'tam points in the operation of the machine by the edge of a cam 36mounted to rotate with the cam 17 which'operates the feeder 7. Assumingnow that the wrapper w has been fed into the position in which it ap-"pears in Fig.1 where it stands vertically in the path of the articleabout to be fed into the wheel by the plunger 7 the'cam 36' then allowsthe spring 34 to swing the arm 32 and the fingers and 31 to the left asthe pa s. are seen in Fig. 1. At the same time th cam 17 operatesthrough its connections with the plunger 7 to move the plunger forward.These movements are so timed as to cause the wings 27 and 28 tostrikethe front face of the wrapper to at substantially the same instantthat the tips of the fingers 29 and 30 strike therear face of theWrapper. The wrapper thus will be gripped between the fingers and thewings, the fingers 29 operating to press the wrapper against the'wing 27and the finger 30 against the wing 28. As the plunger 7 continues itsforward movement, these wrapper gripping parts will continue to hold thewrapper at opposite sides of the kiss, the fingers 29 and 30 yielding topermit the forward movement of the plunger.

The act of forcing the kiss and wrapper into a pocket of the wheel makesthe initial fold and the parts 27, 28, 29 and 30 continue theirengagement with the wrapper until after this fold has been made and thewheel 3 is about to start forward to fold the flaps d and e inthe mannerabove described. At this point the cam 36 again engages the roll 35 andholds the fin ers 29 and 30 away size and positioned at opposite sidesof the kiss over which the wrapper is bent to produce these. folds.

- The end twisting operation is performed cates and accordingly only"one of these mechanisms will be described. Referring ;more particularlyto Figs. 5, -6 and 7, it i will be seen that each vtwister mechan smfrom-the wrapper and t e plunger 7 retires comprises a twister head 40having a hollow, cylindrical shank 41 which is rotatably suppinion 43fixed to its end opposite the head 40. Motion is imparted to the pinion43 by; a gear 44 fast on a shaft 45 which is .driven by gear connectionswith the main shaft of the machine. The twister head 40 has two shortshafts 46 and t7 mounted 'rotatably therein and each shaft carries orwith and close to each other and the pinions 46' and 47' both mesh witha peripherally grooved head-48 ofa spindle 49 mounted to slide axiallythrough the shank 41 of the twister head. Bothv the shafts 4.6 and 47project at opposite sides of the twister head and they carry U-s'hapedwire twisters 50 and 51, respectively, which are crossed, asclearlyshown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 The legs of each twister extend throughits shaft at right angles to the axis of the shaft and are adjustablesecured in the shaft by screws threaded axially into the ends of theshaft.

A spring 54, mounted in the hollow shank 41 of the twister head,encircles the spindle 49 and actson a collar fast on the rear end of thespindle to slide the spindle through the shank 41 'away from the head40. This movement is transmitted through the pinions 46' and 47' to thetwisters 50 and 51, separating or opening the twisters so'that they willstand in the ported in a short bracket 42 and has a ably mounted in thelever and extends substantially coaxial with the spindle 4C9. Ac-

' cordingly, when the high portion of the cam 59 swings the lever 58 ina clockwise direction aslthe parts are seen in Fig. 5, the stud 60 willPllSll the spindle 49"forward, thus .rotating the pinions 46 and 47 insuch a direction as to close the twisters 50 and 51."

Inasmuch as centrifugal action tends to hold the twisters open it ispreferable to close them positively as in the arrangement justdescribed.

Assuming now that apackage, partially wrapped as shown in Fig. 8, 1smoved by the wheel 3 into the rangeof-the twisters,

the spring 54 operating during the positioning of the package to holdthe twisters open, the cam 59 will then close the two sets of twistersonto the ends of the wrapper w and they will twist both ends of'thewrapper in the same direction, producing a packa e substantially likethat shown in Fig. 9.

. subject to rapid wear and deterioration.

The twisters of each pair preferably are set one slightly in advance ofthe other, thus leaving a very small space between the wrapper engagingportions of'the twisters so that, as the wrapper shortens during thetwisting operation, it can slide through the twisters without tearing.The adjustment of the twisters also is of advantage in enablingthem tobe moved to the points best suited to the requirements of differentsizes of articles to be wrapped.

Having thus described my invention what I claim'as new an-ddesiretosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine of the character described a rotatable twister head, aspindle mounted to slide in said head and having a series of peripheralgrooves,'two shafts supported in said head on opposite sides of saidspindle,

and having teeth meshing with the grooves twisters supported,respectively on said spindle, and a pair of U-shaped wire twisterscrossing each other and supported, respectively, by said shafts, wherebythe sliding movement of said spindle in one direction operates throughsaid shafts to open the twisters and the movement of the spindle in theopposite direction closes the twisters.

2. In a machine of the character de scribed, a rotatable twister head, aspindle mounted to slide in said head and having a series of peripheralgrooves, two shafts supsaid plunger and to cause the plateto retireported in said head on opposite sideslof said spindle, and having teethmeshing with the grooves on said spindle, a pair of U- shaped wiretwisters crossing each other and supported, respectively, by said shaftswhereby the sliding movement of said spindle in one direction operatesthrough said shafts to open the twis'ter'sand the movement of thespindle in the opposite direction closes the twisters, and mtermittentlyacting means. operatingjpositively through said spindle to hold thetwisters closed.

- 3. In a machine of the character described, a pair -of oppositelydisposed rotatable twister heads, each head carrying two shafts and apair of U-shaped wire .bysaid shafts and each twister being a ustableinits shaft whereby the. two sets of twisters may be moved toward or fromeach other, means for opening said twisters, andmeans for positivelyclosing said twisters.

4:. In a machine of the character described .tate the formation of thewrapper about the article.

a rotatable twister head, two shafts supportv ed in said head and spacedfrom each other, two twisters supported respectively by said shafts formovementinto open or closed relationship with reference to each other, a

spindle, mounted in said head for slidin 5. In a wrapping machine, thecombination with a wrapping wheel and a reciprocating plunger operativeto push articles one at a time into the pockets of said wheel, of aplate mounted under said plunger to slide substantially to the peripheryof said wheel and back again away from the wheel in a path parallel tothe path of movement of said plunger, whereby the plate serves tosupport each article a's-the plunger forces it into the pockets in saidwheel, a spring ar- I ranged to move said plate in one direction,

and connections between said plate and said plunger serving to move theplate in the opposite direction. I

6. In a wrapping machine, the comblnation with a wrapping wheel and areciprov eating plunger operative to push articles one at a time intothe pockets of said wheel, of mechanism for reciprocating said plunger,a plate mounted under said plunger to slide tow a rd and from saidwheel, and means for operating said plate comprising a spring acting onsaid plate to move it forward with the plunger, said means belngconstructed and arranged, upon the forward movement of the plunger, tomove said plate substantially to. the peripheryo'f said wheel toenableit to support an article as it is pushed into one of the pockets of.said wheel by again with said plunger. v

7. In a wrapping machine, the combina tion with a wrapping wheel andmechanism for feeding articles one at a time into the pockets of saidwheel, of means for'feeding a wrapper into the path'of each article asit is moved into a pocket of said wheel, and means for gripping thewrapper at opposite sides ofthe pocket and moving with the article as itis. forced into the ocket to facilifold of the 8. In a wrappmg' machine,the combination with wrapping mechanism andmechanism for feedingarticles one at a time to said wrapping mechanism, of means .for feedinga wrapper into the path of each ar-.

ticle as it is moved into said wrappingmecha anism, wrapper grippingdevices comprising members operative to engage one face oftheadditionalparts yieldingly mounted and constructed and arranged to press thewrapwrapper at opposite sides of the article, and

per against said members while the initial fold is being made in thewrapper about the article. i a

9. In a wrapping machine, the combina tion with Wrapping mechanism, of aplunger operative to push articles one at a time into against thewrapper,

10. In a wrapping machine, the combination with wrapping mechanism, of aplunger operative to push articles one at a time into said mechanism,means for feeding a wrapper into the path of eacharticle as it is movedinto said wrapping mechanism, a pair of Wrapper holding fingers arrangedto bear on the rear face of the wrapper at opposite sides of an articlemoved by the plunger, and

wings, on said plunger opposite to said fingers and cooperating withsaid fingers togrip the wrapper at opposite sides of each article whilethe plunger pushes the article against the wrapper.

11. In a wrapping machine, the combina tion with wrapping mechanism, ofareci'proeating plunger operative to push articles one at a time intosaid mechanism, means for feeding a wrapper into the path of eacharticle as it is moved into said wrapping mechanism, said plunger havingwings extending forward on opposite sides of an article fed by it to apoint substantially flush with the front face of said article, a pairofwrapper holding fingers operative to press the wrapper against saidwings as the plunger pushes the article into engagement with the wrapperand into the wrapping mechanism, and means for holding said fingers outof the path of the wrapper'while it-is being fed into position to beengaged by an article.

12. In a wrapping machine of the character described, the combinationwith a wrapping wheel having one or more pockets for the reception of anarticle with a wrapper partly folded about it, and mechanism for feedingarticles to be wrapped one at a time into said pockets, of means forfeeding a wrapper into the path of, each article as it is moved into apocket of said wheel, and

means supported independently of said,

wheel constructed and arranged to grip the wrapper at opposite sides ofthe article and move with the article as it is forced into the pocket tofacilitate the formation of the first fold of the wrapper about thearticle.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

NRYJ. KEF.

Witnesses:

. Farmers E. BRYAN,

M E. HEALEY.

